Deep Thoughts: Kentucky Derby Omen Edition

Damn (0.00 / 0)

I'm speechless.

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by: Thurman Hart @ Sun May 04, 2008 at 23:35:54 PM UTC

me too (0.00 / 0)

I am still waiting for someone to put the Democratic Party out of its misery and euthanize Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign (as well as the Clinton family's presence in politics in general) once and for all.

Let's hope that Big Brown wins the Triple Crown as a precursor to Barack Obama winning the Democratic nomination and the Presidency.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Mon May 05, 2008 at 02:56:04 AM UTC

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I was pondering (0.00 / 0)

just what to write about the Kentucky Derby.

On a lazy Saturday, when Blue Jerseyans were doing errands, determining whether or not Juan is a hypocrite, snarking at Murray Sabrin and sighing that the Rev. Wright controversey had faded for the moment (until Sunday AM) to be replaced by the "gas holiday" brouhaha, I started to write a comment about the Derby results.

I wanted to make it light, in keeping with Saturday's tone.  Things didn't work out that way.

I wanted to say that Murrany's horse was a saggin' sack o sh*t who was still running when the race was over.  Not true.  Although he finished 9th, that ain't so bad in a field of 20.  Are there 20 GOP candidates yet in the primary?

I wanted to talk about what a magnificent race Big Brown ran.  It couldn't have been better.

Except for the tragedy of Eight Belles.

When I got done writing, I cancelled my comment.  It didn't feel right.

Since this is a political blog, and many of us were having fun with the horserace,  (which as everyone here knows, is how the talking heads keep labeling the Dem primary), I knew the inevitable camparison between BHO and HRC would come up.

Still, it didn't feel right, because the comparisons were at best, superficial.  Brown colt wins and 2nd place filly gets killed on the field. That's about it.

I don't gamble, but I do like to watch the Triple Crown races.  If I bet at all, its based on the horses' names or the jockeys' silks.  How ridiculous is betting on a colt named after a UPS truck or a filly who sounds like she came out of Tara?

For those who are looking for another superficial political camparison to the Triple Crown, think Barbaro.  

Like Big Brown, he was another great horse who won the Derby and was heavily favored to win the 2 other jewels - the Preakness and the Belmont.  He broke a number of ankle bones at the Preakness, was pulled out and Bernadini won.  Of course, he never made it to the Belmont, had numerous operations and was ultimately "euthanized."

I suppose if I had had a few drinks by now, I could come up with some kind of metaphor.  But it would be a stretch.

Maybe it is just a horserace, not an omen.

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by: SmartyJones @ Mon May 05, 2008 at 14:54:01 PM UTC

Have another drink (0.00 / 0)

Eight Belles' injury and death was tragic.  Is it too soon to joke about it?  Not to seem callous (because I've never seemed that, right?) but it really doesn't matter to me.  She was a beautiful animal and died doing what she loved.  Sucks.

I don't bet and rarely watch the horses but when I saw Big Brown walk to the gate I said, "Holy crap, that's the winner!"  But he could go down in practice or in his next race, the same as Belles.  That's why raising race horses is so risky.

I don't recall ever hearing of a horse breaking both ankles.  I don't know what was going on with that horse, but that indicates a severe gait problem or suggests someone ran into them (I've not heard anything about this at all).  The tragedy of Barbaro is that the owners let emotion get the best of them and didn't euthanize him before subjecting him to surgery after surgery.

As far as the omen - let us not forget that a Ft. Worth motorcycle cop also ended up dead when working Clinton's campaign detail.  It's like the old joke about the guy who suffers setback after setback and finally cries out "Why me Lord?" and a great booming voice says, "I don't know.  I just don't really like you much."

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by: Thurman Hart @ Mon May 05, 2008 at 15:35:16 PM UTC

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